Sales of Google’s (GOOG) low-cost Nexus 7 tablet have reportedly topped Apple’s (AAPL) iPad over the holiday season in Japan. Nikkei cites market research firm BCN in reporting that a survey of 2,400 stores across Japan suggests that Google’s 7-inch tablet accounted for 44.4% of all tablet sales by large electronics vendors in the region. Despite the launch of the iPad mini, sales of Apple tablets were said to account for 40.1% of all tablet sales over the period. It is unclear if Apple stores were included in the firm’s poll. More →

Have an old Kindle Fire lying around? Don’t trade it in just yet because with a little bit of tinkering, you can turn it into what amounts to a Google (GOOG) Nexus 7. XDA-Developers user “Hashcode” has written up instructions on how to install Android 4.2.1 on an original Kindle Fire with almost every feature intact. If you can live without the microphone (sound still works), deep sleep mode, Swype keyboard, multi-user profiles and USB camera support, then you’re good to go. All of the major tablet features including hardware-accelerated HD video for YouTube and Netflix (NFLX) work smoothly, and Liliputing’s hands-on video suggests the transformation works really well for browsing and games. The only downside is the battery life is not very good. True, you won’t get the Nexus 7’s higher-resolution display or sleeker design either, but it’s still a handy way to repurpose an old tablet. More →

It’s been rumored for a while that Google (GOOG) and ASUS (2357) are working on a $99 Nexus tablet. Although benchmarks can easily be faked, a new GLBenchmark for a tablet identified as only “ME172V” and reportedly built by ASUS has popped up with specs well below those of the Nexus 7. According to the GLBenchmark, the entry-level Nexus 7 could have a 7-inch display with a 1024 x 600 pixel resolution display, 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 8GB of internal storage, a 4270mAh battery and Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean. Interestingly enough, the purported low-end Nexus 7 also has a micro SD card slot, which the original Nexus 7 does not. It’s possible that the entry-level tablet could be an entirely new Nexus product, or even not a Nexus-branded tablet at all. In September, ASUS denied it was working on an entry-level Nexus 7 for Google.

Google (GOOG) announced last month that it was discontinuing the 8GB model of its popular Nexus 7 tablet and reducing the price of the 16GB model by $50 to make room for a larger 32GB model. The Internet giant’s announcement didn’t sit well with early adopters who essentially felt duped. ASUS (2357), the tablet’s manufacturer, has now stepped in to make things right, at least for European buyers. For those who bought a Nexus 7 directly from ASUS or Google before the October 29th price drop, the Taiwanese manufacturer is offering customers a €25 voucher after they give a proof of purchase. The offer is available for all of Europe and runs through November 30th, while the voucher, according to The Verge, is valid through December 31st.

Contrary to what Apple (AAPL) is telling people, the Google (GOOG) Nexus 7 is still one of the best 7-inch tablets available. And with a 3G model, the tablet only becomes better. Alongside the Nexus 4 and Nexus 10, T-Mobile will also be selling a 3G HSPA+ Nexus 7 on November 13th for $299.99, according to TmoNews. The HSPA+ 21Mbps Nexus 7 will be sold exclusively through the Google Play Store, so if you’re planning on buying one, don’t bother hitting any retail stores. As far as hardware goes, the HSPA+ Nexus 7 has identical specs to its Wi-Fi-only counterpart: 7-inch (1280 x 800 resolution) HD display, quad-core Tegra 3 processor, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, 4325mAh battery, NFC and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera.

Whether you’re buying an iPad mini for yourself or as gift for someone else, the last thing you want to do is accidentally drop your new $329 tablet. But for people curious about how strong Apple’s (AAPL) new tablet really is, Android Authority grabbed a new iPad mini and new Nexus 7 and pit them against each other in do-or-die drop test. When dropped on its side from about four feet off the ground, the iPad mini suffered two small dents on its corners and the Nexus 7’s display shattered in its corner with a few pieces of plastic falling off. More →

How low can Google go? The Mountain View, California-based company blew open the Android tablet market with the $199 Nexus 7 slate earlier this year, but Google (GOOG) is apparently just getting started. The firm added a high-end tablet to its repertoire earlier this week when it unveiled the Nexus 10 with an HD display, but rumors also swirled that the company had a new $99 Nexus slate in the works. Now, Digitimes reaffirms its earlier claims in stating Google is currently prepping an “entry-level Nexus tablet that has not yet been announced.” No additional details were provided.

The $199 starting price on Google’s (GOOG) Nexus 7 was widely expected to bolster sales, but no one could really project how the affordable Jelly Bean tablet would be received considering the tablet’s relatively limited distribution and the mass market’s all-around indifference when it comes to most Android tablets. According to Asus chief financial officer David Chang, however, Nexus 7 sales have grown significantly and now total nearly 1 million units each month. “At the beginning, it was, for instance, 500K units a month, then maybe 600, 700K,” Chang told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. “This latest month, it was close to one million.” The figure doesn’t approach iPad sales, which are in excess of 1 million units each week, but they are impressive nonetheless considering how much wider iPad distribution is and how much Apple (AAPL) spends promoting it compared to the Nexus 7.

Google (GOOG) had plans to unveil a new Nexus tablet on Monday, but a formidable hurricane forced the company to cancel its big Android press conference. While the world will have to wait a short while longer to meet the high-resolution Nexus 10 tablet (and the Nexus 4 smartphone), another likely announcement was some shifting in the Nexus 7 lineup. Even though the event was canceled, at least one retailer has pushed ahead with the changes anyway. More →

While Google (GOOG) has not officially announced a higher-capacity Nexus 7 tablet, the slate is already available for purchase from select retailers. Office Depot (ODP) on Thursday listed the Nexus 7 tablet with 32GB of internal storage on its website for $249. Oddly enough, the retailer continues to offer the smaller 16GB model for the same price. Google is widely expected to announced the 32GB model, along with other goodies at an Android event on October 29th. It is unclear, however, if the Mountain View-based company will continue to offer the 16GB model at a reduced price. BGR will be on hand at the event to bring you the news as it breaks. Coverage begins on Monday at 10:00 a.m. EDT.